Here's Why Jennifer Lopez Said She 'Lost Herself' in a 'Destructive' Relationship with Ben Affleck

The 'Bennifer' saga is as fascinating as it is complicated. Fans who have followed Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's relationship since the early 2000s witnessed the rise and fall of their romance. Their high-profile affair began after the two met on Gigli's film set in 2002 and hit it off almost immediately. However, they have had their share of ups and downs with JLo once calling the relationship "destructive." 

Long before they reunited in 2021, the couple's romance fizzled out after they called off their very public engagement in 2004. Although initially, they both dodged the painful topic in the aftermath of their split, Lopez opened up to Vanity Fair in 2017 and spoke in length about "losing her sense of self" in her relationship with Affleck, as per Vogue.  

"I lost my sense of self, questioned if I belonged in this business, thought maybe I did suck at everything, And my relationship [with Affleck] self-destructed in front of the entire world," JLo revealed, adding that it took her almost two years to get over her broken relationship with Affleck, "It was a two-year thing for me until I picked myself up again." 

Later, in a separate interview with W magazine, she talked about insecurities in men and women, "Men in their 20s are very confident and cocky, and women are super insecure. And then it flips - men get super insecure, and women get comfortable in their own skin, in a way that makes them more beautiful," explained the Selena actress per Marie Claire. 

"I never appreciated my body or my looks when I was in my 20s. Now I'm like, 'Look at me! Look at you!' Not in a conceited or arrogant way - I just appreciate myself in a way that I didn't when I was that age," she added, noting, "I think Jen and I made a mistake in that we fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible. I don't think either of us anticipated the degree to which it would take on a world of its own." 

Meanwhile, the Gone Girl actor had his own interpretation of why the 'Bennifer' had a fallout. In a conversation on The Howard Stern Show, Affleck blamed the consistent media attention as one of the factors that pushed their relationship to the edge. "I would say [media attention] was about 50 percent [of what destroyed our relationship]. The idea that people hate you and they hate you together and that being together is poison and ugly and toxic and the thing none of us want to be part of," per Grazia.

"And, 'Who the fu*k would want to have them to dinner?' And, 'What the fu*k are they doing together?'" he lamented, "I got fu*king hurt and angry, and felt like a fool." But, against all odds, they miraculously reunited. However, once again, the media is speculating on a divorce after two years of marriage. Will the Bennifer be able to survive this time?